Strawberry Hill

Built between 1749 and 1776, for Horace Walpole (1717-1797), 4th Earl of Orford. His fantastical masterpiece has given its name to its own style of architecture: "Strawberry Hill Gothic". Having predated the Gothic-Revival fashion by several decades, in his will Walpole left the villa to his cousin, the sculptress Anne Seymour Damer who in turn willed it to the Waldegrave family. It has inspired many other homes and Beauport in Massachusetts has a room designed and named in its honour. It is now maintained by the Strawberry Hill Trust and completed a significant two-year restoration in 2010. In 2013, it won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage. Today, it is open to the public and a popular events venue.